Labour, Lib Dem and Green members voted against the proposals; as there's nine of them and eight Conservatives, the plans were defeated. Now the proposals end up on Boris Johnson's desk and he has to decide whether to force it through.

The Mayor has so far done his level best to distance himself from what will be very unpopular cuts. As far back as September, Boris has been telling London Assembly members Andrew Dismore and Navin Shah that as they sit on the Fire Authority, the decision rests with them, and he's consistently dodged discussing the proposals at Mayor's Question Time. Now he's been forced into a position where he could be solely responsible for making it happen.